50 Fun Facts About 1964

Which band made its first US television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964?

A record 73 million viewers tuned in, and the British Invasion was on.

Whom did Cassius Clay beat in Miami Beach on February 25, 1964, to become heavyweight champion?

Nine days later the new champion announced he was changing his name.

What was the magnitude of the Great Alaskan earthquake that struck on Good Friday, 1964?

It remains the most powerful earthquake recorded in North America and killed 125 people.

Which Austrian city hosted the 1964 Winter Olympics?

The Games ran from January 29 to February 9; the city hosted again in 1976.

The 1964 Summer Olympics were the first held in Asia. Which city hosted them?

The world's first bullet train line opened between the host city and Osaka just nine days before the opening ceremony.

On which date was the US Civil Rights Act of 1964 enacted?

In December the Supreme Court upheld it, ruling that motels and other public accommodations could not discriminate.

Which US Surgeon General issued the first government warning that smoking may be hazardous?

The January 11 report was the first such statement from the US government.

What did the Twenty-fourth Amendment to the US Constitution outlaw in 1964?

It was authorized on February 4, five months before the Civil Rights Act.

For which film did Sidney Poitier become the first African-American to win Best Actor in 1964?

The award came at the 36th Academy Awards on April 13.

How long, in total, were the sentences handed to twelve Great Train Robbers in April 1964?

The gang had taken £2,600,000 in used notes from the Glasgow-to-London night train the previous August.

Who completed the first solo around-the-world flight by a woman in April 1964?

Her Spirit of Columbus took off and landed in Ohio, and the trip took 29 and a half days.

To which prison were Nelson Mandela and seven others sent after their June 1964 life sentences?

Mandela had opened the Rivonia Trial in April with his 'I Am Prepared to Die' speech.

Which British television channel began broadcasting on April 20, 1964?

The same day, Johnson and Khrushchev announced cuts to nuclear weapons material production.

Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged on April 26, 1964, to form which country?

It was one of several African nations reshaped that year, alongside Malawi, Zambia and a newly republican Kenya.

Which programming language ran its first program at 4:00 a.m. on May 1, 1964?

John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz designed it to be easy to learn, and it later shipped on home computers and consoles.

A riot at a Peru-Argentina football match in Lima in May 1964 killed roughly how many people?

The crowd turned on a referee's decision; another 500 were injured in what remains football's deadliest stadium disaster.

Which car made its first appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 20, 1964?

It would not win the race until 1966, when it ended Ferrari's winning streak.

Which country beat the Soviet Union 2-1 to win the 1964 European Nations' Cup?

The final was played on June 21; it was the host nation's first major title.

Which country gained independence from the United Kingdom on July 6, 1964?

Malta followed in September and Northern Rhodesia became Zambia in October.

What did the Ranger 7 probe send back on July 31, 1964?

The images were 1,000 times clearer than anything seen through Earth-bound telescopes.

Which US destroyer was attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin on August 2, 1964?

Within five days Congress passed a resolution giving President Johnson broad war powers in Vietnam.

What happened in Manchester and Liverpool on August 13, 1964, for the last time in British history?

Gwynne Owen Evans and Peter Anthony Allen were executed simultaneously for murder.

Which nation did the IOC ban from the 1964 Summer Olympics because its teams were segregated?

The ban was announced on August 18 and the country did not return to the Games until 1992.

Which Disney film premiered in Los Angeles on August 27, 1964, and went on to win five Oscars?

It was the first Disney film nominated for Best Picture and won Julie Andrews the Best Actress award.

Which British newspaper replaced the Daily Herald on September 14, 1964?

The same day, the third period of the Second Vatican Council opened in Rome.

Which body submitted its report on the Kennedy assassination on September 24, 1964?

It was the first official investigation into the November 1963 killing.

What did Japan inaugurate on October 1, 1964, as a world first?

The Shinkansen's first section linked the capital with Osaka.

Which Soviet spacecraft carried the first multi-person crew into orbit in October 1964?

It was also the first flight without space suits, and it landed after just 16 orbits.

Who became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964?

He collected the award in Oslo on December 10 for leading non-violent resistance to racial prejudice.

Which Soviet leader was deposed on October 14-15, 1964?

Brezhnev and Kosygin took power between them.

Who became British prime minister after Labour's narrow election win on October 15, 1964?

It ended 13 years of Conservative government under Sir Alec Douglas-Home and his predecessors.

Which country exploded its first atomic bomb on October 17, 1964?

The test, codenamed 596, took place in Sinkiang.

From which New York institution was the Star of India sapphire stolen on October 29, 1964?

The 565-carat stone was part of a haul of irreplaceable gems taken in the heist.

Whom did Lyndon B. Johnson defeat in the November 1964 presidential election?

Johnson took more than 60 percent of the popular vote with Hubert Humphrey as his running mate.

Which New York span, then the world's longest suspension crossing, opened November 21, 1964?

The same day the third period of the Second Vatican Council closed in Rome.

Toward which planet did NASA launch Mariner 4 on November 28, 1964?

It was sent to take the first television pictures of the planet in July 1965; Mariner 3 had failed three weeks earlier.

At which university did police arrest about 800 students at a Sproul Hall sit-in in December 1964?

The protest had begun in October when students surrounded a police car holding an arrested activist.

Which Lockheed aircraft made its first flight at Palmdale, California, on December 22, 1964?

The F-111 Aardvark had flown for the first time the day before in Texas.

Which revolutionary addressed the UN General Assembly on December 11, 1964?

A bazooka was fired at the UN headquarters in New York the same day.

Who was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature?

Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin won the Chemistry prize the same year.

Which instrument did Robert Moog demonstrate as a prototype in October 1964?

The same month saw the first cosmic microwave background detection being recognised.

Which country won the 1964 Eurovision Song Contest with 'Non ho l'età'?

Sixteen-year-old Gigliola Cinquetti sang it at the contest staged in Denmark.

Which South American country's military overthrew President João Goulart on March 31, 1964?

The coup began 21 years of dictatorship that lasted until 1985.

Which famous statue in Copenhagen lost its head to thieves on April 25, 1964?

The attack was attributed to artist Jørgen Nash, though the press blamed painter Henrik Bruun.

Which future First Lady was born on January 17, 1964?

Jeff Bezos was born five days earlier and Nicolas Cage ten days earlier in the same month.

Which actor, later of The Matrix, was born on September 2, 1964?

Russell Crowe, Sandra Bullock and Courteney Cox were also born in 1964.

Which future US vice president was born on October 20, 1964?

Boris Johnson, a future British prime minister, was born the same year on June 19.

Which US general, Supreme Allied Commander in postwar Japan, died on April 5, 1964?

Environmental writer Rachel Carson died the same month.

Which country's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, died on May 27, 1964?

He had led the country since independence in 1947.

Which former US president died on October 20, 1964?

Composer Cole Porter had died five days earlier, and Harpo Marx the month before.